Boston 2018: Desiree Linden and Running at Its Best

Here's Martin Fritz Huber of Outside Online on what made this year's Boston Marathon so special.   

Huber is a fine writer and a refreshing for Outside, which strikes me as being in the business of shilling for kit makers: his columns rarely touch on gear.

OK, advertising for equipment and pieces such as "The 27 things you've absolutely gotta have before you head into the wilderness" and "We've found the last camp knife you'll ever buy" pay the bills, and of course there are things one does require.

Still, we've come a long way from Walden; or, Life in the Woods.

Tracksniffery

"Crafting performance apparel for the competitive runner requires a relentless pursuit of the best materials and manufacturers. From our Massachusetts-made Varsity Cotton to our lightweight, Swiss-made Eliot Stretch fabric, we scour the globe for materials that perform for the garment’s specific function. Our factory relationships are critical - we work tirelessly to find the best global partners and push one another to deliver the highest quality product possible."

Apparel-maker Tracksmith is coy about both the provenance of its product and the criteria its global partners are required to meet. Quality and reliability, no doubt, but sustainable and ethical business and employment practices as well? 

In any case, I don't need its overpriced "performance" kit to run fast; if I fancied the retro look, I'd pop by the second-hand shops first.

Yuki Kawauchi, 2018 Boston Marathon Champ

Until his victory in Boston, Kawauchi, a full-time civil servant in Japan, was an amateur, crisscrossing the globe on his own dime in the process of setting Guinness records for the most marathons under 2:12 (26) and 2:20 (79). Within hours of winning his first major, he announced his intention to turn pro. Check out this article about him from The Guardian, which includes clips of him running an unofficial world record for the half in a business suit, finishing in the same race a year later wearing a panda suit, and running possibly the fastest marathon in the coldest conditions at Marshfield in January.   

Incredible Ed Whitlock

Nice story/ obit here about Ed Whitlock, who died last year at age 86. Read to the bottom to see the amazing times he posted at 5k, half, and marathon distances as a masters runner.

Sir Roger Bannister

Sir Roger Bannister, the first to run a sub-4 mile, has died at 88. Nice article here. Ironically, Sean Ingle's obit appeared in The Guardian the same day as revelations  further undermining British cycling powerhouse Team Sky's claims to be the cleanest on tour and Icarus, the documentary about state-sponsored doping in Russia, would win an Oscar.  Contrasting the "passing of the last gentleman athlete" with the "by any means necessary" morality of contemporary sport is this fine cartoon, also from The Guardian. And for the history-making race in its entirety.

Kenyans and Ultramarathons

Piece from The Guardian about the absence of one of the world's marathon powerhouses from the "ultra" form of the sport: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2018/feb/27/why-dont-kenyans-run-ultramarathons

Afternoon Run

Nagase Shrine was established 1000 years ago by order of the Japanese emperor of the day, and perhaps to commemorate that event the keyaki (Japanese elm) beside the torii was planted, as it is estimated to be the same age. Despite having run past any number of times, it wasn't until today that I stopped to read the informative plaques.